Wednesday, February 29, 2012

UNICEF’s flagship report, ‘The State of the World’s Children 2012: Children in an Urban World’, has launched today, 28 February, in Mexico City.

One billion children live in urban areas, a number that is growing rapidly. While urban children are generally more likely to benefit from education programs, for most of the marginalized groups, education remains inaccessible.

Many fail to meet registration requirements to enroll in urban schools and others cannot afford education related costs such as enrolment fees, the costs of uniforms, books and supplies.

To discuss how the progress in urbanization has impacted education, UNICEF’s podcast moderator Femi Oke spoke with two guests: Dr. Pamela Wridt, Co-Director of Children’s Environments Research Group, and Carlos Vasquez, Architect and Education Specialist at UNICEF.

EL SALVADOR: After years of devastating extreme weather, El Salvador is incorporating information on calculating climate risks into school curriculums, changing the school year and moving in avariety of other ways to help students, farmers and those most at risk prepare to face future climate threats

TIBET: Changes in rainfall patterns and rising temperatures – as well as overgrazing – are driving desertification along Tibet’s Yalung Zanbgo river.

The newspaper has evidence that some companies are offering tourists ‘tailor-made programmes’ where they are ‘lucky’ enough to see ‘uncontacted natives’.

The findings bear a disturbing resemblance to the ‘human safari’ scandal on the Andaman Islands. However, organizations in Peru are acting quickly to prevent such a situation.

Peruvian authorities and indigenous organization Fenamad are urging local residents to stay away from the tribe, and are setting up a guard post to prevent intruders from making unwanted contact.

They are also working closely together to ensure illegal loggers are caught and the tribe’s land protected.

Survival International’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘Of course not all tour operators are pursuing ‘human safaris’, and it’s reassuring to read that some acknowledge the dangers for both tourists and the Mashco-Piro of large numbers of people entering this area. But the unscrupulous operators really need to be exposed, as encouraging tourists to ‘view’ the Mashco-Piro is extremely irresponsible, and potentially deadly.’

During the worship, the Dongria will take an oath pledging never to leave the mountain, which faces renewed threats as companies eye its valuable resources.

The Dongria have fought hard to resist such advances, but speaking out against proposed mining continues to be dangerous.
Survival International has received reports of arrests and beatings, and in the last week alone, police have shut down six meetings where food supplies were being organized for this weekend’s festival.

Giridhari Patra from the Niyamgiri Protection Committee said, ‘Intimidating and threatening the Dongria before one of their most important festivals is unforgivable. The mountain is the seat of their god and the basis of their identity. We will never give it up to Vedanta.’

The tribe’s victory in 2010 over the mining giant, which wanted to dig an open-pit mine to reach the mountain’s aluminum-ore deposits, was historic.

However, their way of life is once again in danger as the controversy is reconsidered by India’s highest court on April 9 this year.

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘It’s disgraceful that the police are harassing tribespeople in the run up to this religious festival. Niyamgiri is everything to the Dongria Kondh – they must be allowed to remain there. The Dongria’s victory over Vedanta was inspiring for tribal people around the world. All eyes will be on the Supreme Court this April.’

The Plight of Andualem Aragie and Other Political Prisoners in Ethiopia

The “Gulag” prison system in the old Soviet Union was infamous for warehousing and persecuting dissidents and opponetns. The gulags were used effectively to weed out and neutralize opposition to the Soviet state. They were the quintessential tools of Soviet state terrorism. Some called them “meat-grinders” because of the extremely harsh and inhumane conditions. Torture, physical abuse by prison guards, solitary confinement, inadequate food rations and officially instigated inmate-on-inmate violence were the hallmarks of the gulags.

Ethiopia’s prison system today are reminiscent of the Soviet gulags in their abuse and mistreatment of political and other prisoners. Let the facts speak for themselves: In a recent column on two Swedish journalists arbitrarily held in one of the Ethiopian prisons near the capital, N.Y. Times’ columnist Nicholas Kristoff described the prsion conditions as

filthy and overridden with lice, fleas and huge rats… a violent, disease-ridden place, with inmates fighting and coughing blood… 250 or so Ethiopian prisoners jammed in the cell protect the two [Swedish] journalists, pray for them and jokingly call their bed ‘the Swedish embassy’.

The U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Ethiopia (April 2011) documented:

…Human rights abuses reported during the year included unlawful killings, torture, beating, and abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, especially special police and local militias, which took aggressive or violent action with evident impunity in numerous instances; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of opposition or insurgent groups; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention… Numerous reliable sources confirmed in April 2009 that in Maekelawi, the central police investigation headquarters in Addis Ababa, police investigators often used physical abuse to extract confessions.

… torture and ill-treatment have been used by Ethiopia's police, military, and other members of the security forces to punish a spectrum of perceived dissenters, including university students, members of the political opposition, and alleged supporters of insurgent groups… Secret detention facilities and military barracks are most often used by Ethiopian security forces for such activities.

The regular and secret prisons maintained by the ruling regime in Ethiopia today are among the most inhumane, primitive, barbaric and sadistic in the world. In July 2008, the regime of dictator Meles Zenawi secretly commissioned retired British colonel Michael Dewars, an internationally recognized security expert, to undertake an assessment of the prison system and make recommendations. In his report, Col. Dewars expressed total horror and shock over what he witnessed in one of the prisons he visited in Addis Ababa. He recounted:

I asked to go into the compound where the prisoners are kept. This consisted of a long yard with a shed to one side which provided some sort of shelter. The compound had a wall around it and a watchtower for an armed sentry overlooking it. Inside must have been 70 – 80 inmates, all in a filthy state. There was insufficient room for all these people to lie down on a mat at once. There was no lighting. The place stank of faeces and urine. There appeared to be no water or sanitation facilities within the compound. There was a small hut in an adjacent compound for women prisoners but there had been no attempt by anybody to improve the circumstances of the place. The prisoners were mostly on remand for minor crimes, in particular theft. Some had been there for months….

Col. Dewars concluded:

Detention conditions of prisoners are a disgrace and make the Federal Police vulnerable to the Human Rights lobby…. The prison I saw was a disgrace. No one is recommending a Hilton Hotel, but, if any human rights organization were to get inside an Ethiopian jail, they would have enough ammunition to sink all our best efforts.

Col. Dewars

recommended that the Government should investigate this situation with the intention of improving the current appalling conditions inside Ethiopian prisons, which must brutalise prisoners and their goalers equally… and that senior Ethiopian Ministers and Police Officers visit the prison that I visited.

Over the past several years, I have written extensively on torture and mistreatment of political prisoners in Ethiopia. In my numerous columns on the incarceration of former judge Birtukan Midekssa, the first woman political party leader in Ethiopian history, and other political prisoners, I have pointed out the “soft torture” techniques used to crush her spirit and break her body. She was subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, visitation deprivation, daily humiliation and mindless interrogation. Birtukan faced untold suffering in prison. Zenawi could not bear the thought of Birtukan going free; and in a moment frustrated defiance declared: “There will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That's a dead issue.” In the end she prevailed and became free. Just last week in Washington, D.C., she presented her study on the challenges confronting the Ethiopian opposition and offered specific recommendations for strengthening multi-party democracy in Ethiopia as a Reagan-Fascell Fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy.

Andualem Aragie Inside the Belly of the Beast

Zenawi has replaced Birtukan by another young Ethiopian leader, to be sure several dozens of young opposition leaders, journalists, activists and others. Last week, the former Ethiopian President and current leader of the Unity and Democracy Party (UDJ) Dr. Negasso Gidada reported that Andualem Aragie was severely beaten by a death-row-inmate-turned-lifer while confined in his cell. The facts of Andualem’s abuse are shocking. According to Dr. Negasso, Andualem was held in a "windowless cell for 14 people with a number of other political prisoners including Bekele Gerba, Olbana Lelisa and Tilahun Fantahun." About a month ago, a convicted murderer whose life sentence had been commuted to life in prison was allowed to join Andualem’s cell. This criminal savagely assaulted Andualem inflicting severe injuries to his head. He was reported to lost consciousness following the assault.The Voice of America reported that “Relatives who have seen Andualem say his head injury appears to have affected his ability to maintain his balance.”

This inmate is notorious for his assaultive behavior inside the prison. He has a long record of violence and abuse of inmates. He is known to receive special accommodations for being a prison enforcer for the authorities. Rumors are rife that prison authorities paid the criminal a substantial sum for beating Andiualem.

Prior to his arrest on bogus terrorism charges, Andualem was a rising leader in the UDJ and served as its spokesperson and external relations officer. Andualem is among a new breed of young Ethiopian political leaders, journalists and civil society advocates who are widely respected and accepted. In the months leading up to the May 2010 “election” in which Zenawi claimed a 99.6 percent victory, Andualem demonstrated his unflinching commitment to democracy and the rule of law. With breathtaking clarity of thought, razor-sharp intellect, incredible courage, mesmerizing eloquence, piercing logic, stinging wit, masterful command of the facts and steadfast adherence to the truth, Andualem made mincemeat out of Zenawi’s vacuous lackeys in several televised pre-“election” debates. It was a sight to behold.

In September 2011, Andualem and 23 other individuals were “accused under the anti-terrorism law of being members of a terrorist network and abetting, aiding and supporting a terrorist group.” Earlier this month, a group of independent United Nations human rights experts (U.N. Special Rapporteurs) condemned the so-called anti-terrorism law and diplomatically cautioned that “the anti-terrorism provisions should not be abused and need to be clearly defined in Ethiopian criminal law to ensure that they do not go counter to internationally guaranteed human rights.” Andualem and the others are expected to have their day in kangaroo court on March 5.

Torture, Abuse and Plausible Deniability

Plausible deniability is the ability to deny a fact or allegation, or previous knowledge of a fact by shifting blame on someone else. In Andualem’s case, plausible deniability allows Zenawi’s regime to deny any awareness or knowledge of a criminal or criminally negligent act by its officials or unofficial agents in the prison. By allowing a notoriously violent criminal to assault Andualem, they aim to plausibly avoid responsibility. In other words, they have sought to remove their fingerprints, handprints, palmprints and footprints from the cowardly criminal act perpetrated on Andualem. But their MO (modus operandi) is well known. Whether they acted through their goons uniformed as prison guards or their deputized convicted thugs, they are exclusively responsible for the safety of all pretrial detainees like Andualem. Regardless of how one looks at it, what happened to Andualem, and has happened to other political prisoners countless times, represents a clear case of extrajudicial punishment (torture) in violation of Ethiopia’s Constitution and international human rights conventions.

Speaking of Constitutional and International Law…

The Ethiopian Constitution provides specific safeguards for the safety and protection of pre-trial detainees awaiting trial. Article 16 guarantees that “Everyone has the right to protection against bodily harm..” Andualem has the constitutional right to be secure from violence while awaiting trial. Article 110 of the Ethiopian Criminal Code (Proclamation No.414/2004) specifically requires that “prisoners who are sentenced to rigorous imprisonment or special confinement shall be kept separate from prisoners who are serving a sentence of simple imprisonment or awaiting judgment.” The criminal thug who assaulted Andualem should have never been allowed in the area reserved for pre-trial detanees. Article 18 provides, “Everyone has the right to protection against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The savage beating of Andualem in plain sight of prison guards constitutes “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Article 20 provides that, “During proceedings accused persons have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law…” Since Andualem has not been found guilty “according to law”, he is innocent of the charges and should have been accorded his rights consistent with that presumption. Article 21 guarantees that “All persons held in custody and persons imprisoned upon conviction and sentencing have the right to treatments respecting their human dignity.”

International law protects all prisoners, and particularly political prisoners, from inhumane and barbaric treatment. Under Article 13 of the Ethiopian Constitution, the “fundamental rights and freedoms enumerated… shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR], international human rights covenants and conventions ratified by Ethiopia.” Article 5 of the UDHR (incorporated by express reference in Art. 13 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia) prescribes that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (ratified by Ethiopia on June 11, 1993 and similarly incorporated) provides that “all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.”

The U.N. Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (1988) (Principle 8) specifically provides: “Persons in detention shall be subject to treatment appropriate to their unconvicted status. Accordingly, they shall, whenever possible, be kept separate from imprisoned persons.” Article 1 of the Declaration Against Torture (1975) defines torture as “… any act by which severe pain and suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted by, or at the instigation of a public official on a person for such purposes as …punishing him for an act he has committed; or intimidating him or other persons…” Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (acceded to by Ethiopia on April 13, 1994) mandates that signatories “shall undertake to prevent… acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment…” Article 5 of the African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ratified by Ethiopia on June 15, 1998) prohibits, “all forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly… torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment.” The U.N. Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (1990) provide that “all prisoners shall retain the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other Covenants. Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court include torture as a crime against humanity and a war crime.

I write about the law on the protection of the rights of political prisoners to set the record; for I know that preaching the law to outlaws is like pouring water over granite.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends,” said Dr. Martin Luther King… Nothing is more important and uplifting to political prisoners than knowledge of the fact that they are not forgotten, abandoned and forsaken by the outside world. Remembrance gatherings at town hall meetings such as this one serve to remind all of us who live in freedom the divine blessings of liberty and the unimaginable suffering of those trapped in the darkness of dictatorship.

Andualem Aragie and countless political prisoners in Ethiopia reamin trapped in the darkness of dictatorship. They have been beaten down and brought to their knees. We cannot hear their whimpers of pain and desperation. Few, other than their tormentors, will be able to see their mangled bodies. Because they have no voice, we must be their voices and speak on their behalf. Because they are walled in behind filthy and subhuman prison institutions, we must unflaggingly remind the world of their suffering. We must all labor for the cause of Ethiopian political prisoners not because it is easy or fashionable, but because it is ethical, honorable, right and just. In the end, what will make the difference for the future of Ethiopia is not the brutality, barbarity, bestiality and inhumanity of its corrupt dictators, but the humanity, dignity, adaptability, audacity, empathy and compassion of decent Ethiopians for their wrongfully imprisoned compatriots. That is why we must join hands and work tirelessly to free all political prisoners held in Ethiopia’s public and secret gulags. “Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.”

Friday, February 24, 2012

The Oregon Music Hall of Fame has launched their $12 in '12 fundraising campaign, which asks supporters to make a tax deductible donation of $12 to the organization in 2012.

The Portland-based nonprofit is seeking to expand its Musical Assemblies and Scholarship activities throughout Oregon's K-8 schools. "We currently have more requests from Oregon schools for our outstanding Musical Assemblies than we can accommodate," said Hall of Fame President and local music entrepreneur Terry Currier. The assemblies are presented as fun, interactive events that teach kids how musical instruments work while fostering an appreciation and interest in music.

It cost the Hall of Fame only $1 per child to expose students to music at one of the organization's assemblies, which are currently led by internationally known concert rock violinist Aaron Meyer as well as other notable area musicians. During the last two years, over 10,000 Oregon children attended the assemblies. "As Oregon schools continue to lose funding, K-8 music education programs are steadily being cut. A contribution of $12 in 2012 will help the Hall of Fame fill that funding gap and possibly inspire a life-long love of music within thousands of Oregon students," said Hall of Fame Educational Programming Director Janeen Rundle.

The Hall of Fame, whose more than 87 inductees include five time Grammy Award winner Robert Cray and 2011's Best New Artist Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding, also wants to increase the amount and number of Scholarships it awards annually to graduating Oregon High School Seniors. The scholarship program receives from 100 to 300 applications per year. Between 2007 and 2011, 18 Oregon youth received scholarships totaling $17,500. In addition to the $1,000 scholarship award, and perhaps as important to the kids, is the opportunity to perform live at prestigious area venues such as Jimmy Mak's, and a special performance at The Rose Festival recognizing each student's achievement and allowing them to publicly showcase their musical abilities.

Hall of Fame supporters can make their $12 in '12 donation and get more information at the Oregon Music Hall of Fame's website (www.omhof.org), by emailing the Hall of Fame at 12in12@omhof.org or at the Oregon Musical Hall Of Fame's FaceBook page

On March 13th, New Destiny Housing Corporation will be honoring Mathew Wambua, New York City Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development; Ken Haron and Robert Ezrapour, President and Vice-President of Artimus; Bill Traylor, President of Richman Housing Resources; and Jeff Barker, New York City President, Bank of America during their Annual Cocktail Benefit at the Bryant Park Grill on 25 West 40th Street in Manhattan from 6-8 p.m. Melissa Russo, Channel 4 Anchor and Government Affairs Reporter, will emcee the event. Individual tickets are $225 and government/nonprofit tickets are $150.

New Destiny creates long-term security and stability for low-income families and individuals atrisk of domestic violence and homelessness. To achieve its mission, New Destiny builds service-enriched housing, provides services and programs to help victims of violence become and remain stably housed, and advocates to increase the housing resources available to New York City’s low-income families.

In FY 2012, New Destiny has a 41-unit project in the Bronx under construction which should be completed by mid-year. Another project in Brooklyn is expected to begin construction in April 2012. New Destiny currently houses 400 families a year in projects it has developed and serves over 3,000 families and individuals through its housing and programs.

In 2004, nine-year old Chaeli together with her sister and friends started what is known as the Chaeli Campaign, an organization that provides equipment, physical therapy and programs to children with disabilities.

In November 2011, Chaeli won the International Children’s Peace Prize 2011 for her commitment to the rights of disabled children in South Africa.

She spoke with UNICEF Radio moderator Femi Oke about challenges of providing inclusive education and her plans for the future.

One Mursi man told Survival, ‘It (the government) came, took our land and told us it wants to move all the people in the Omo valley to stay in one place like a camp.’

Survival International said today, 'The Ethiopian government is responsible for some of the most flagrant and violent human rights abuses that Survival has seen in years. By dressing up the theft of tribal land as 'development', it expects to get away with such atrocities. State and private investors will be the only ones to benefit from the Omo Valley sell-off, while self-sufficient tribes face destruction.’

Tapping research outputs from international agricultural research centers could help national and state governments to tackle the twin problems of food insecurity and the rising wave of unemployment, says the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga.

Faced with the challenge of food deficit, most governments in developing countries and especially Africa rely on food imports to meet local demands. Also the rising population in the region poses two important challenges: more mouths to feed and unemployment.

During a courtesy visit to the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday, Sanginga said, “We have the technologies and knowledge to help boost agriculture and we are ready to share these with partners.”

He said investments in research and development backed with the necessary political support could alleviate the situation of high food import burden and improve agriculture.

Pledging to step up assistance to farmers in Ekiti State, Sanginga called for greater cooperation between IITA and the government of Ekiti.

Endowed with favorable agroecological zones, Ekiti is among the states that have over the years benefited from IITA’s interventions in research and development work in cocoa, yam, cassava, and banana and plantain. For instance, farmers in that state received improved cassava cuttings from the institute, while the clean seed yam technology is equally offering farmers ‘seeds of hope’.

According to Sanginga, partnership is important if the goal of reducing the number of poor people and guaranteeing food security is to be achieved. While urging the governor to tap the available improved planting materials at the institute to maximize yield on farmers’ fields, he said that the yellow cassava varieties recently developed by IITA and national partners could help the state in improving the nutrition of people suffering from vitamin A deficiency.

Other areas in which the institute could support farmers in Ekiti state include deployment of improved processing technologies through the value chain approach and capacity building of agricultural actors.

The director general also presented the 40 percent cassava bread to the governor and reiterated that IITA has a number of technologies in other crops that the state could tap.

The Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, commended IITA for its efforts and expressed the state’s willingness to collaborate with the Institute.

He said the state would require support in the area of mechanization, adding that a blueprint for the state’s agricultural development is in the pipeline.

The governor said that the state has the agroecology that could be effectively tapped to feed and generate revenue internally.

He stressed that the visit of IITA was timely, adding that the blueprint being developed would help the state to take advantage of both the internal and external markets.

About IITAIITA is an international non-profit R4D organization established in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of tropical countries.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Yesterday delegates from 78 leading humanitarian organisations from 4 continents gathered in London to urge the international community to adopt a new approach to Somalia. The wide ranging discussions focused on the grave humanitarian situation in Somalia. Delegates, including 30 Somalis, worked throughout the day to outline a pathway forward for NGOs and governments to improve the practical humanitarian access to Somalia.

Speakers stressed that over 2.3 million people in Somalia still remain reliant on food aid and that greater coordination between government, IGOs and NGOs is essential to improve humanitarian access in Somalia. There was strong consensus that Somalis need a greater voice in the diplomatic process and that there needs to be better coordination of support for Somalia in order to ensure that aid gets through to where it is needed most. The group also agreed that more needs to be done to build the capacity of Somali NGOs, who have access and ideas but need support.

The conference saw the launch of co-authored publication ‘Back from the brink’, outlining 10 ways the international community must address Somalia’s humanitarian crisis.

President of The Humanitarian Forum, Dr Hany El Banna said: “We are gathered here today to talk about the dreams and the future of the children of Somalia. To do this, we must celebrate our Somali solution. We are able to deliver as one, however we need to be empowered, supported and guided. We are here to guide one another. ”

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and The Humanitarian Forum: brought together 100 delegates from 78 leading NGOs to highlight the imperative humanitarian situation in Somalia. These included organisations like the United Nations (OCHA), Qatar Charity, Somali Relief and Development Forum, Muslim Charities Forum, Oxfam, Islamic Relief, Christian Aid.

On 22-23 February, IFAD will be holding its annual event. This year our event will have a strong social-media presence, and the virtual audience will be able to follow the proceedings and interact with the prominent guests and panellists via webcasting and IFAD’s social media channels. Before, during and after the event, social reporters will keep the outside world informed through blogs, tweets, and interviews and pictures posted on IFAD’s social media pages.

22 February

At 10 a.m. (CET) Nik Gowing, international broadcaster, will host a high-level panel to discuss and debate what it will take to ensure food security while protecting the environment. Panellists will share their views on different farming methods. They will highlight the importance of building institutions, investing in research and technology, and adopting and adapting new practices.

As the international community takes stock of progress in the climate negotiations and prepares for Rio+20 in June 2012, at 3.p.m.Dr Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, the Chief Executive Officer of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network, will engage in a conversation with Naga Munchetty, international broadcaster, on “What promise will Rio herald for agriculture?”

23 February

At 10.00 a.m. (CET) Bill Gateswill take center stage to share his perspective on how sustainable agriculture productivity improvements can reduce hunger and poverty. He will also challenge both global players and national governments to adopt a new approach to supporting small farmers.

Send us your questions and comments for the various panelist. We will be sharing these live during the various sessions

Promote the live stream: We will be live streaming the event, which includes all keynote speeches, high-level panels, centre stages and regional events at http://webcasting.ifad.org/gc2012.

Use hashtag #ifadgc

Help shape the future for sustainable agriculture and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Join @ifadnews Governing on 22-23 February. Follow the event via webcasthttp://webcasting.ifad.org/gc2012. Send us your questions and comments for the various panellists. We’ll be asking them for you.